Bike Ride to Puyo

Location:
Baños, Ecuador

Bicycling

By Kristi Mohrbacher

For the more athletic travelers, there is the option to rent bicycles and ride 60km from Baños to Puyo in a single day.  While the ride is fairly mild without too many large hills to climb, you can still catch a bus heading to Baños at any point on the ride and head back into town if you can't make it all the way.

In the first 20 km or so, there are many different waterfalls of varying sizes that culminate in the powerful El Pailon del Diablo waterfall at about 17 km into the ride.

The ride takes you along the river where you can stop to bridge jump, also known as puenting, with locals. Further on, you can stop to ride the cable car across the valley to see another waterfall or wander through the lush greenery and flowers.

A few things to know before you do the ride: you will be sharing the highway with speedy, if not suicidal, truck and bus drivers and at some points you will have to go through pitch black tunnels with the traffic. It can be very frightening. There is always the risk of your bike breaking down or being faulty in some way. It also may rain, leaving you in between towns with nowhere to take cover, so bring appropriate gear, just in case. The good news is you can always catch a bus and head back to Baños. The ride can take anywhere from 5-8 hours depending how long you dilly-dally at each waterfall.

Price Description: Approximately $5 to rent a bike for the day.

Relative price: Very cheap

Travel Skills: intermediate/somewhat difficult.

You Need to Bring: Wear comfy clothes, shoes, bring plenty of water, sunscreen and bring a rain jacket or poncho in case it rains.